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Tyrone's Donaghy looks like a natural

Summer 2021 is officially on! Tyrone footballer Paul Donaghy pictured today at AIB’s launch of the 2021 GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Donaghy was in attendance at the launch alongside Pádraig Faulkner, Kingscourt Stars and Cavan, Conor Sweeney, Ballyporeen and Tipperary, Daniel Flynn, Johnstownbridge and Kildare, and Ryan O’Donoghue, Belmullet and Mayo, as AIB celebrated the return of summer football and the reignition of county rivalries nationwide ahead of some of #TheToughest games of the year. 

Summer 2021 is officially on! Tyrone footballer Paul Donaghy pictured today at AIB’s launch of the 2021 GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Donaghy was in attendance at the launch alongside Pádraig Faulkner, Kingscourt Stars and Cavan, Conor Sweeney, Ballyporeen and Tipperary, Daniel Flynn, Johnstownbridge and Kildare, and Ryan O’Donoghue, Belmullet and Mayo, as AIB celebrated the return of summer football and the reignition of county rivalries nationwide ahead of some of #TheToughest games of the year. 

By John Harrington

When Paul Donaghy made his senior debut for Tyrone in the first round League against Donegal this year, the entire country asked the question ‘Where have they been hiding this guy?!’

It’s difficult to remember a more impressive bow at the highest level as the 22-year-old kicked 10 points in total from a variety of angles and distances, five of them from play.

It wasn’t just his score-taking that caught the eye either, it was his all-round skill-set and the way he moved across the ground that marked him out as something a little bit different.

It takes a lot of bottle to nervelessly kick frees on your senior inter-county debut in the manner Donaghy did, so he clearly doesn’t lack for mental strength either.

“Obviously it's a great honour to be playing for Tyrone and there's no point in allowing nerves in or playing with fear or anything like that,” says Donaghy of his debut.

“With how competitive our squad is at the minute, you need to go out and take the opportunities while you have them. You just have to do your best with every chance you get.”

The only slight problem with shining on your debut to the extent that Donaghy did is that your profile quickly rockets.

Paul Donaghy was hugely impressive on his senior inter-county debut for Tyrone in the Allianz Football League against Donegal. 

Paul Donaghy was hugely impressive on his senior inter-county debut for Tyrone in the Allianz Football League against Donegal. 

Donaghy noticed that not only were opposition defenders keeping a closer eye on him, there was also a an external expectancy that had never been a factor for him before.

“To be honest I sort of tried to block it all out because I know it's only a distraction,” he says.

“You could see stuff even popping up on Facebook. It was nice to get off to a good start but in football it's all about the next game.

“A lot of those guys have been there before. It's that type of environment where the likes of Mattie Donnelly is able to identify that I am new to all this.

“He'd come and explain that such and such will happen. Usually everything they say is spot on and if you're listening to those guys you'll not go too far wrong as far as being mentally prepared for everything.”

Donaghy knows he still has a lot to learn at the highest level and mentions working on his strength and conditioning as a priority, but so far he’s loving the challenge of his first season as an inter-county footballer.

“It is definitely a wee bit faster and a bit more physical,” he says. “You've less time on the ball. You get on the ball less. Everybody has a good skill set. They are more than capable of taking scores.

“The amount of dedication that's required. You give up a lot of your week to do it but it's not really too much of a challenge because it's very enjoyable as well.

“It's great, really enjoyable. The professional element of it and all is very enjoyable. You learn a lot so quickly, getting the opportunity to do things like play on the TV and play in those big football grounds.”

Paul Donaghy of Dungannon Thomas Clarkes in action against James Garrity of Trillick St. Macartan’s during the Tyrone County Senior Football Championship Final match between Trillick St. Macartan’s and Dungannon Thomas Clarkes at Healy Park in Omagh, Tyrone. 

Paul Donaghy of Dungannon Thomas Clarkes in action against James Garrity of Trillick St. Macartan’s during the Tyrone County Senior Football Championship Final match between Trillick St. Macartan’s and Dungannon Thomas Clarkes at Healy Park in Omagh, Tyrone. 

Donaghy's form for Tyrone in his maiden season isn't all that big a shock for those who've watched him on the club scene with Dungannon Clarkes.

The big surprise for them was that he wasn't called into the Tyrone panel last year after scoring 33 points in four matches to help his club to their first senior championship in 64 years.

That was actually his first championship campaign with Dungannon following a transfer from neighbours Edendork, a move sparked by a desire to play club football with his closest friends.

"I live in Dungannon, I always lived there and I went to primary school in Dungannon," says Donaghy. "All of my friends were Dungannon Clarke's boys and I sort of nearly always found myself up at Clarkes training even though I wasn't playing with them.

"I just always wanted to play with my best friends and I just thought that it was the best time to do it and it turned out well so far.

"Regardless of winning the championship, they're a great bunch of players, it's just great to be with them and they're all very ambitious and we want to go on and win more which is exciting because everybody is going to be doing their level best to make sure that happens."

Donaghy is now set to make his senior inter-county championship debut against Cavan on Saturday July 10, a match that Tyrone will be warm favourites for in the wake of the Breffni County’s relegation to Division 4 of the Allianz Football League.

Donaghy doesn’t think League form is any way relevant, though, and will be giving the reigning Ulster champions the respect they deserve.

“Cavan are a different animal when it comes to the championship,” he says. “They're that type of team, they're tenacious and they're all warriors.

“They've some fantastic footballers so it's really going to be a tough opener for us but we're doing everything we can to be ready for it. We just hope for ourselves and the people of Tyrone that we are.”